A dish at the Grand Tasting event during Portland's Harvest on the Harbor

A dish at the Grand Tasting event during Portland's Harvest on the Harbor

Oysters on the half shell, lobster rolls, clam chowder... If you're a seafood fan, it's tough to do better than Portland, Maine. Harvest on the Harbor is the city's premier food event, and this year festivities run from October 21 to 25. Some highlights include:

Wednesday, October 21 7-10PM: Moonlight Gala at The Landing at Pine PointThe festival's opening event sees a five-course feast paired with wine by Marchesi di Barolo. Local band Sly Chi will also provide live, big band music.

Friday, October 23 Noon-2:30PM: Maine Lobster Chef of the Year Competition at Ocean Gateway. One of the festival's most popular events pits the state's best lobster chefs against one another for the title. Samples of each entry are passed around to guests and served with a complimentary wine pairing.

Friday, October 23 6-8:30PM: Top of the Crop at 58 Fore - The Portland Company sees chefs pair up with Maine's top farms to create delicious dinner dishes from the bounty of the season.

Saturday, October 24 Noon-2:30PM and 4-6:30PM: Taste your way across the eight regions of the state at the Maine Marketplace, with two sessions on Saturday. Tickets include local wine, beer, and spirits and you'll even get to keep your commemorative glass.

Sunday, October 25 1:30-4PM: Rock N' Roast at 58 Fore - The Portland Company ends the festival with live music and BBQ, plus craft brews from across Maine.

How pretty are these seasonal charts from the California-based design team Young American Creatives? I first laid eyes on the foil-pressed fruits and vegetables poster (below), which features a month-by-month list of the fruits and vegetables at their peak harvest time. They also make seasonal charts for wildflowers and seafood, framed or unframed, all of which make great gifts for folks who love food or gardening. Shop the collection and read more about YAC here.

It's been a while since I've played tourist in New York, but last weekend my mother was in town to visit we decided to head to Little Italy's Feast of San Gennaro on Sunday. We arrived at 11am, right when the festival booths were opening. We walked around watching the first sausages of the day being placed onto hot grills, the first funnel cakes being poured into boiling oil, the untouched mountains of gelato being placed into freezers. Suddenly, we were quite hungry.

I knew of Ferrara Bakery and its reputation for making some of the city's best cannoli (legend has it they coined the phrase "Holy Cannoli"), so we popped off Mulberry Street and over to Grand. Ferrara is east to spot thanks to its neon signage, giant ice cream cone statues, and it's illuminated marquee, reminding all that cross through its doors that it's stood on this spot for over one hundred years.

The story goes that, in want of a spot to socialize, sip espresso, and play the Italian card game scopa, brothers Enrico Scoppa and Antonio Ferrara opened the cafe's doors in 1892. The cafe was popular, and was eventually taken over by Peter Lepore who arrived in New York as a stowaway, and eventually married Enrico Scoppa's daughter. At the start of the Great Depression in 1929 baking ingredients became scarce and so, to ensure there was as little waste as possible, Lepore and his staff began baking in small batches. This small batch approach led to Ferrara's reputation of fresh-out-of-the-over baked goods, and they've been churning them out ever since. It's now run by the fifth generation of the family.

It's easy to see why it's remained so popular over the years. A long glass display case of eclairs, sfogliatella, pasticciotto, cream puffs, cookies of all shapes and sizes, and, of course, cannoli, is the first thing you see upon entering, and many people are simply standing in place and ogling the desserts the way shoppers would a pretty department store window decorated for the holidays. We opted to sit at one of the small tables along the wall, ordering a variety of their mini desserts and caffe lattes (okay, we actually ordered Prosecco. Pro tip: they don't serve alcohol until after noon on Sundays). They were all delicious but as predicted, if I could only eat just one of them again, I'd take the cannoli.

And, because relaxing is important, too, there's a splurge-worthy spa and an outdoor hot tub for unwinding at the end of all this activity. At mealtime, head to The Cascade Dining Room, which hosts special dinner series throughout the month and a champagne brunch each Sunday. The 254 guest rooms all have great views of the surrounding mountains, and some also feature fireplaces, perfect for cozying up by in the colder months.